"The transgression
of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his
eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found
to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left
off to be wise, and to do good. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he
setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil. Thy mercy,
O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great
deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy loving
kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the
shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of
thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For
with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. O
continue thy loving kindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness
to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let
not the hand of the wicked remove me. There are the workers of iniquity
fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise." (Psalm 36:1-12)

This psalm shows a
very vivid contrast between the blessings of those who walk in fellowship
with God and the curses of the transgressors or the wicked. The
transgression or sins of the wicked says to them, "God will never find out."
The wicked somehow make themselves believe that they will never suffer the
consequences of their wrong doings. When a person should be in prayerful
sleep the wicked person stays awake, thinking up mischief that they can
participate in. David said the wicked "abhorreth not evil." In our day we
have gotten use to the darkness of sins and there are so few who truly abhor
evil. Somehow society thinks that just any wrong should be tolerated. While
man is sinful God is full or mercy. God is faithful and His faithfulness
reaches the clouds. God's righteousness and judgments are always fair. They
are firm like mountains and deep like the sea. God is that life giving
fountain and in Him we find light. David closed the psalm with a request to
God to keep showing love to everyone who knows and serves Him. He wanted God
to use His power to save the upright in heart.

A description
of the wicked -- Psalm 36:1-4: Psalm 36 is a psalm dealing with the
tragedy of wickedness and the great loss that follows evil. Sinners do not
respect God; all they think about is sin. There is no fear of God before
their eyes. There are all kinds of rebellion and transgression because there
is no fear of the Lord in the hearts of those people. Those who do not fear
God do all kinds of evil things. They give no thought to the eternal
consequences that follow every action. Let us "...know that for all these
things God will bring thee into judgment... (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10) One of
the most prevailing commands in the Bible is "Fear God." "Though a sinner do
evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it
shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him." (Ecclesiastes
8:12) The wicked man believes that whatever situation he is in that he is
all right. We are only all right when we are walking with God. The wicked
flatters himself so much that he cannot detect or hate his own sin. The
words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful. The wicked person has become
foolish and does no good. He lies on his bed and plots evil.

A description
of the greatness of God -- Psalm 36:5-9: David now turns his
attention to meditate upon the greatness of God. He focused on God's love
being as high as the heavens. Even the clouds in the sky can depend on God's
faithfulness. God's judgments and decisions are always firm like the mighty
mountains. He preserves both man and beast. "If God sees the sparrow's fall,
paints the lilies short and tall, gives the skies their azure blue, will He
not then care for you?" There is no way that we can begin to describe God's
love, faithfulness, righteousness and justice. How priceless is His
unfailing love for us! It is so wonderful to be able to take refuge in the
shadow of His wings.

A prayer for
God's continued love -- Psalm 36:10-12: David prayed to God to
continue His love to His children and His righteousness to the upright in
heart. If God continues as He is we will be blessed now and forever. David
then prayed that the foot of the proud not come up against him to kick him
around. He asked God not to allow the hand of the wicked to drive Him away.
Then in a great statement of faith, even before it happened David saw the
evil doers as being fallen and God's justice prevailing. We have every
reason to praise God.

There are many
blessings that come to those who live a righteous life. We must put our
trust in God and be righteous by means of salvation through the blood of
Jesus. Please accept God's wonderful good news that Jesus died for your
sins. Will you be baptized into Christ to put on Christ so that your sins
can be forgiven by His blood? "For you are all sons of God through faith in
Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on
Christ." (Galatians 3:26-27) Believers contact Christ's saving blood by
being baptized into His death. Those who become children of God are then in
a position to lift up God and praise Him for His mighty power.